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Archive for the ‘insulation’ Category

Doors, carpet, trim – oh my! 14 days left!

Posted in 3rd new, 3rd old, basement, building codes, carpet, insulation, kitchen, mechanical systems, Uncategorized on August 4, 2011|

Carpet, doors, and trim – the chapter house is starting to look like a home.  The next two weeks are going to be a flurry of activity to finish by August 17.  This week carpet is being installed in the hallways of the 1931 building and in the rooms of the 1964 addition.   The living room and housemother’s floors are being sanded and finished.

New solid core doors are being installed throughout the house.   A master-key system will be installed that will allow the house corporation to have a single key that will open all doors.  Each student’s key will unlock their study and assigned sleeping room door.

Next week’s highlights include firing up the air conditioner for the first time, installing the wireless internet system and rest of the finishes. FIJI is hosting all the UNL fraternity and sorority house corporations next week during the greek house tour.

If you haven’t done so already — mark your calendar and plan to attend Pig Dinner on Friday, October 7, 2011.  The chapter house dedication ceremony will take place on Friday at 4.30 p.m. with the 106th Norris Pig Dinner starting at 7. This year’s keynote address will be by the Honorable J. Robert Kerrey (Nebraska 1965), Former United States Senator and Governor of Nebraska.

Painting starts in the kitchen.  The kitchen will get a new stove and refrigerator.

The old ice room will house a new residential refrigerator, microwave and new ice machine.  Late plates and extra food will be stored in this room for guys to have access to in the evening.  The kitchen will remained locked when the cook is not present.

The 1964 stairwell has been painted and new railing installed.  Code requires new railings in both the 1964 and 1931 stairwells.

New hallway carpet in the 3rd floor of the 1931 building.

New doors have been installed.

The 3rd floor bathroom in the 1964 addition is ready for its final finishes.

New main electrical service panel — this feeds each of the subpanels on each floor.

All of the heating and cooling plumbing was redone.  The boiler room ceiling is almost fully covered in insulted pipes.

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Carpeting starts

Posted in 2nd old, carpet, dining room, drywall, fire sprinklers, insulation, livingroom, mechanical systems on June 23, 2011| 1 Comment »

Carpet installed in room 300.A

The 1931 building final finishes continue – carpeting is being installed in sleeping rooms, the living room and basement drywall should be finished this week and the painter is scheduled to return next.  The plan is to refinish the 1st floor original hardwood floors after the painter is done.

As noted last week, the 3rd floor and roof of the 1964 addition did not meet current building codes.  A plan has been developed and approved to  install additional support beams – framing should begin next week.

Ceilings will be installed next week in the dining room and 2nd floor of the 1964 addition next week.

The project is on target for an August 15 finish date.

2nd ‘old’ bathroom — standing in the southwest corner (where the showers use to be) looking to the northeast.  Each bathroom will have two private shower stalls.

Drywall work continues in the living room and should finish this week.  Insulation was installed in the exterior walls.  The cove above the 2nd set of windows conceal the heating and air conditioning systems for rooms 200 and 201.

Workers install the ceiling system in the dining room.  The drywall can not be screwed directly to beams as that alters the structural integrity — so instead they screw the drywall to these channels — which also helps reduce sound transmitting from floor to floor.

The new fire sprinkler shut-off valve.

Doors will be installed to the 1964 addition fire escape. In addition, any window within 10 feet of the fire escape must be a fire-rated window. These non-operable windows have a wire mesh imbedded in the glass.  In the event of a fire, this would delay the window from breaking under — thus allowing the residents to safely exit the building using the fire escape.

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2nd and 3rd floor walls gone

Posted in 2nd old, 3rd new, 3rd old, 4th floor, building codes, Demolition, dining room, drywall, insulation, kitchen on May 19, 2011|

Cinder blocks from 2nd floor

The demo and asbestos crews have been busy – the first floor foyer, dining room, and hallway ceilings have been taken down.  The second and third floor walls have been taken down in the 1964 addition.  Demo has started in both bathrooms and should be finished next week.

Work continues in the 1931 building. Insulation is being installed on exterior and interior walls.  This will help with both energy efficiency and sound. Drywall and insulation has been installed on the fourth and third floors, including the third old bathroom.  The mason is building the new egress doors on second, third and fourth floors.

Next week the masons will start laying the walls on second and third floors of the 1964 building. Cinder blocks will be used which will help with longer term maintenance of the building (no more broken drywall).

If you would like to see the house in person, the House Corporation is hosting a breakfast next Thursday, May 26 at the chapter house.  The breakfast is from 7 to 9 a.m., with a short campaign update at 8 a.m. Please send an email if you plan to attend.  The cost if a suggested donation of $10.

Dining room, taken from the northwest corner looking towards the east.

The told tile has been removed in the kitchen. While the layout is not going to change, new appliances will be installed.

2nd new — taken from the northeast corner of what was the cleaning closet — looking towards the west.  The red wall on the right was room 206 and the red wall with the Husker N was room 210.  The cinder block wall in the middle of the photo is a load bearing wall and can not be removed. It was the south wall of room 210 and 211.

Hallway outside the balcony and 2nd new bathroom.  The ceiling has been removed.

2nd floor — taken from the southeast corner of room 206 looking to the west.  The purple wall was room 212.

Taken from the northwest corner of room 210 looking into room 211 and 212.

Standing in room 212, looking into the bedroom area of room 211 and 210 (the red wall).

Old side of the house — 2nd floor — this is where the window for the fire escape was located.  Code required a door be installed.

Southwest corner of 3rd floor (room 309) looking east.  The walls will be removed after the cinder blocks are stalled to hold up the roof.

Taken from room 310 – northwest corner looking into room 211 and 212.

A detail of the roof structure of the 1964 addition.

Demo in the third floor bathroom (3rd new)

3rd new bathroom — shower and toilet area.

Drywall in 3rd old bathroom looking at the area were the sinks will be installed. This was the area where the showers were located.

Interior insulation being installed in the new room 300 (approximate location is where the old room 301).

Drywall installed in the new room 301 (old 302). Standing in the educational/study area looking into the sleeping rooms.  These will both be private rooms.

Room 400.b — old 4South. This will be a bedroom for two brothers.

Goodbye 2nd new toilets — I think we’ve all cleaned these at one time or another.

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We’re rockin’

Posted in 2nd old, 3rd old, 4th floor, building codes, green building, insulation, lighting, mechanical systems on May 5, 2011|

Changes in the boiler room

As the undergraduates draw another year to a close, the project made progress this week. The insulation crews have been in and drywall is being installed. The project is slightly behind schedule as the City of Lincoln required and handfull of structural changes to bring the chapter house up to current building and safety codes. However, the project is still on schedule to be completed by August 15. Demolition begins on the 1964 addition on Monday, May 9.

The City required updates of the 1931 roofing structure. To accommodate the changes, the project was either going to have to remove and rebuild the entire roof to address venting issues or fill the roof structure with spray foam insulation. The second option was selected, even though it was a cost overrun of several thousand dollars, it was significant less than rebuilding the entire roof.

Insulation is also being installed on the second and third floor exterior and interior walls. The interior insulation will help keep the sound down between rooms, while the exterior insulation (including the spray-foam in the roof) will save the chapter funds on utilities for years to come – not to mention, make our building a little greener.

Recessed lighting is being used throughout the entire project. As these lights are recessed into the ceiling, it will be less likely they will be damaged and there will be no globes to break. For fire safety, the City required fire-proof covers to be installed around each fixture. These arrived and are being installed this week.

The mechanical contractor has stripped the boiler room of all the old pipes, tanks and pumps. The current boiler (installed in 1998) will be reused for the new fintube heating and air conditioning system using hot and chilled water. The old system used steam heat for the 1931 building and hot water for the 1964 addition. Switching to hot water for the entire system means it will cost significantly less to heat the chapter house, in addition to being simpler to operate.

Drywall has gone up in 3rd old. 

Interior and exterior insulation is being installed. This is a photo of standing in one of room 300’s bedrooms (approximate location is old 301) looking into the new room 301 (old 302). The interior insulation will help cut down on the sound transmission between rooms.

Spray foam insulation was installed in the attic last week, as required by the building codes. This photo is taken from south wall of the 4th floor looking into the room 401 (formerly known as 4-South).

Fire proof tents were installed around the new recessed light fixtures.

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